Porter, Texas – Premium synthetic lubricant and performance chemical manufacturer, Royal Purple®, today announced it is celebrating its partnership with veterans organization, Manpower to Horsepower, in an NBC Sports video feature at the Red Bull Global Rallycross Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River race in Jacksonville, North Carolina on July 5.

A longtime partner of Royal Purple, Manpower to Horsepower is an organization that seeks to help combat veterans re-acclimate to civilian life by providing specialized training and job placement for careers in motorsports. The organization has helped rehabilitate dozens of American heroes since its founding in 2010, offering its comprehensive 16 week program at no charge to those enrolled. Royal Purple supports Manpower to Horsepower by supplying its complete line of premium high performance lubricants and chemical products as well as well Royal Purple branded shop apparel for use in the program. Royal Purple also extends this same support to a number veteran staffed race teams composed of graduates of Manpower to Horsepower’s program.

Castrol, one of the world’s leading lubricant brands and Official Sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, has brought together pioneers from the worlds of football and motorsport to create Castrol Footkhana; an innovative experiment that sees Brazilian star Neymar Jr take on new Castrol Ambassador and global rally icon Ken Block.

SYLVANIA Automotive Lighting provided extra incentive for drivers competing in domestic GRC events in 2013 with the inception of the $20,000 battle for the SYLVANIA SilverStar zXe Cup. New to the GRC series in 2013, the SYLVANIA zXe Cup was awarded to Heikkinen since he was the driver that earned the most championship points in four of the series’ U.S.-based events this season. The fight for the SYLVANIA zXe Cup commenced with the July 11 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, included races in Bristol and Atlanta, and wrapped up yesterday at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s famous dirt track.

LOS ANGELES (July 27, 2011) — BFGoodrich® Tires, an official sponsor of Summer X Games 17, will upgrade the experiences for both racers and fans at the upcoming event July 28-31, 2011. Not only will rally teams and drivers be challenged with a new race course leading them through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, but fans can win unique prizes — including a trip to the Skip Barber Racing School — and check out the SCORE Baja 500-winning race truck and a special tire carving at the BFGoodrich Tires booth at X Fest.

BFGoodrich Tires has established itself as a dominant force in X Games rally competition and has the opportunity to add two more rally gold medals to its X Games trophy case — one in the Rally Car Racing competition and one in the RallyCross competition. Since 2006, BFGoodrich-shod race cars have won 17 of the 20 medals awarded, including five of six gold medals: Travis Pastrana (Subaru) won gold in 2006 and 2008; Kenny Brack (Ford) won gold in 2009; and Tanner Foust (Ford) won two golds in 2010.

NEWRY, ME — One of the most spectacular seasons in Rally America Championship history came to an end at the New England Forest Rally with Antoine L’Estage and co-driver Nathalie Richard atop of the NEFR podium for the second consecutive year. The privateer Rockstar Rally Team took the lead from the start and held it for the entire duration of the event, winning eight of the eleven special stages. L’Estage finished 48 seconds ahead of Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins.

Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew focused on getting to the finish having to place fourth or better here to secure the National Championship win. Higgins faced overheating issues on Day 1 and fuel pressure issues on Day 2, but eventually finished second overall to win the title back for Subaru. This victory marks the third American Championship title of Higgins’ rally career.

Rounding out the podium was Super Production (SP) class driver Travis Hanson and co-driver Terry Hanson. The privateer father/son team put the finishing touches on their flawless season by placing third overall in Maine and third overall in the National Championship. The Hansons dealt with severe overheating issues late in Day 2 while battling to stay ahead of Tom Lawless and co-driver Alex Kihurani. Hanson edged Lawless out of a podium spot by just 7 seconds. Hanson leaves NEFR with the SP class win and a dominant Super Production Championship title victory.

The New England Forest Rally is based in Newry, Maine and features approximately 100 competitive miles of fast, rugged logging roads. Heavy attrition caused by the rough and rocky stage road surfaces is expected, making NEFR one of the toughest events on the Rally America calendar. Retirements were in abundance this year, most notably Joseph Burke who blew his turbo on Stage 1 and Heath Nunnemacher who was in podium contention before crashing out on the famous Concord Pond stage.

Attrition also got the best of Super Production drivers Ramana Lagemann and Lauchlin O’Sullivan. Lagemann and O’Sullivan came to Maine with only one point separating them as they prepared to battle each other for second place in the SP Championship. Lagemann and co-driver Chrissie Beavis were put out of the event early on Day 1 with a misfiring engine; O’Sullivan and co-driver Scott Putnam DNF’d on Stage 4 with a blown turbo and a small engine fire.

Evan Cline and co-driver Greg Dorman scored their season best, finishing second in SP class and ninth overall. Andrew Wickline and co-driver Stephen Kurey also got their first class podium finish of the season, giving Wickline just enough points to take second place in the Super Production Championship ahead of Ramana Lagemann.

In Two-Wheel-Drive (2WD) competition, a fierce battle raged between more than 25 crews fighting for a piece of the $15,000 MaxAttack! Series prize money. Chris Duplessis and co-driver Karl Atkinson set a blistering pace from the beginning to finish well over three minutes ahead of second fastest 2WD crew of Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and co-driver Jeremy Wimpey. Duplessis put his Ford Fiesta R2 in an astonishing fifth overall.

ACP’s rally almost came to an end when his Scion xD’s oil pan cracked late on Day 2, but he managed to finish second in class and sixth overall. Ford Racing’s Dillon Van Way and co-driver Jake Blattner successfully put a second Fiesta on the class podium and were the third 2WD crew to finish in the top ten overall.

Wyatt Knox and co-driver Ole Holter had a problematic weekend with fuel system issues on Day 1 causing their Mazda3’s engine to cut out several times. Knox limped the car late into Day 2 before an engine fire finally forced him to retire. Knox and Holter earned enough points in the season that their start at NEFR secured them the 2WD National Championship title.

Last Ditch Racing’s John Cassidy and co-driver Jennifer Daly won the Mexico Regional Rally on Day 1 of NEFR by 13.4 seconds over Jason Smith and co-driver Jared Lantzy. Martin Walter and co-driver Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff finished third, rounding out the Mexico Regional podium.

Smith and Lantzy also had a successful Day 2, winning the Errol Regional Rally in their Open Light class 1994 Subaru Impreza by over two minutes on MAP Rally Team’s Mark Piatkowski and co-driver Robert Maciejski. Kevin Turner and co-driver Robert Sockalexis placed third on the Day 2 Regional, piloting a 2WD Subaru Impreza to finish only 5 seconds behind Piatkowski.

RallyCar will be streaming video LIVE from the 2011 New England Forest Rally! For the first time ever, you will be able to watch NEFR pre-event driver interviews, Parc Expose, and action from the stages live from your computer. The live stream is scheduled to begin Thursday, July 14th at 6:30pm ET!

In addition to rally being broadcast live, RAM TV’s Bill Wood will stream a 30-minute recap show on Saturday at approximately 9:00pm ET showcasing event’s highlights and the crowing of the 2011 Rally American Champion.

RAM TV Show NEFR Recap Special – 9:00pm
The rally takes place in remote locations without reliable Internet and mobile connectivity, which may result in technical difficulties. Our engineers will do everything possible to bring the action from NEFR into your home with the best quality.

Travis and Terry Hanson started the season in a history book and will end it in a family annual. On the way, the son and father duo won the 2011 Super Production title with a dominance yet seen in the Rally America National Championship.

Travis from Littleton, NH and his father/co-driver Terry from Williamsburg, MI stunned themselves and the the Rally America community with a win in the season opener at January’s Sno*Drift Rally in Michigan. It was a U.S. rally first putting the team on the top of the points standings for half the season, another U.S. rally first for a Super Production category team.

The Hansons continued to rack up top five overall finishes throughout the season to maintain third place in the championship even after Suburu Rally Team USA’s David Higgins started winning events in his faster Open category machine to take over the championship after the Oregon Trail Rally in May. The Hanson dominance in the Super Production category kept the team in the top three in overall points going into the final event of the season, the New England Forest Rally (NEFR) in Newry, Maine July 15 & 16. They’ll enter NEFR with the SP title in hand but still a brass ring to reach for.

“The SP class championship has been our main goal since the inception of the class,” said Travis Hanson, “It means the world to me to be able to win in a class that is so competitive and a true driver’s class. Having my dad as my co-driver makes this championship so special. Being able to do this with my dad makes this much more than just a championship, just a trophy, it’s a relationship that no one else has.”

Now, the Hansons can focus on defending their third place overall standing knowing that the SP Class is wrapped up. They can enjoy being the highest placing SP team since the class was introduced in 2009.

“At NEFR we have to keep doing what we have done for the whole season, be consistent, be fast and finish. If something happens to one of the top teams and we have a great race there is a chance that we could even score better than 3rd. Who knows? This is rally. Anything can happen,” says Travis Hanson.

Even with the SP championship decided there’ll still be drama in the category in New England. Second and third place in the SP Class promises to be a battle to watch in New England. Only one point separates Ramana Lagemann, Somerville, MA, in second from Lauchlin O’Sullivan, San Francisco, CA, his teammate in third place. Lagemann, in fact, is coming on strong in the second half of the season. He’s won the last two SP class events to move into second in the category.

Both Ramana and Lauchlin are experienced rally racers and very familiar with each other’s driving style and racing pedigree. They’ve faced each other as factory drivers (Ramana drove for the Subaru Rally Team USA and O’Sullivan drove for the Mitsubishi Rally Team) during the SCCA ProRally days nearly ten years ago. Now they’ll stare each other down heading into a difficult and predatory New England Forest Rally.

“Lauchlin and I are great friends,” Lagemann explained, “and after NEFR last year, we talked about how awesome it would be to compete together in the same class this season. Unfortunately that plan hasn’t really worked out. Either I’ve had car troubles or he has. But now we have a few weeks to prepare for NEFR, and we’re both looking forward to getting on those stages.”

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. – Professional athlete Shaun White is branching out from the thrill of asphalt at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and taking to the mud of Old Mill Adventure Park as he continues to upgrade his driving performance with BFGoodrich Tires in Chapter 3 of the “Upgrade to BFGoodrich” campaign. The automotive enthusiast spent time behind the wheel of a full-bore rally car at DirtFish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Wash., to learn the basics of rally driving from experts in this unique motorsport. His latest adventures will debut today in an interactive experience at www.bfgoodrichtires.com/shaunwhite.

Chapter 3 – “Rally 101”

Continuing White’s driving upgrade, the BFGoodrich Tires team put him through the paces at the DirtFish Rally School on a muddy Rally 101 course. White was instructed by two rally racing all-stars – Forest Duplessis, DirtFish Rally School chief instructor, and David Higgins, British Rally Champion and Subaru Rally Team USA member. During White’s time behind the wheel of a Vermont SportsCar-prepared Subaru race car equipped with BFGoodrich® g-Force™ Rally tires, he learned advanced car control, including trail braking and cornering techniques.

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